Author: John Bass

Muhammad Ali Named To 2024 WWE Hall Of Fame Class

With only a few weeks remaining before WrestleMania 40 weekend in Philadelphia, the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class is beginning to take shape, with Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, and The U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda) being announced last week. Now, the trio will be joined by one of the biggest sports icons in history and a man who was involved with the first WrestleMania back in 1985.

Variety reports that the fourth member of the 2024 WWE HOF class is none other than Muhammad Ali. WWE themselves confirmed the news on social media and their official website.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1767190956334260342

A pioneer in both boxing and the civil rights movement, Ali was inspired by wrestling from an early age, modeling his trash-talking persona after early wrestling legend Gorgeous George. He would later get involved in the business several times, including facing Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki in an exhibition fight in June 1976. The fight was preceded by Ali attending a WWE show earlier that month, where he took part in an angle with Gorilla Monsoon.

Nine years later, Ali would return to the wrestling world at the inaugural WrestleMania, where he served as one of two special guest referees for the main event tag match between Hulk Hogan & Mr. T and Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff. Ali would later become involved in the infamous Collision in Korea wrestling events held in North Korea in 1995, attending the events as its “guest of honor.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Collision Preview 3/9/2024

AEW taped Collision from Duluth, Georgia on Thursday night for tonight’s show on TNT.

  • The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) in trios action
  • Atlanta Street Fight: Mark Briscoe, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews)
  • Chris Jericho vs. CMLL’s Titan
  • Bryan Danielson vs. Shane Taylor
  • Mistico vs. Angelico
  • Mariah May vs. Trish Adora
  • Toni Storm presents the first-ever Toni Award

TNA Sacrifice 3/8/2024 (Results)

Countdown pre-show

Impact Digital Media Championship: Crazzy Steve defeated Joe Hendry to retain the title. AJ Francis interrupted Hendry’s photo montage mocking Steve. Francis sat in on commentary. Francis took a cheap shot on Hendry to ram him into the ring post. Steve capitalized for a flying DDT to win.

Speedball Mountain defeated Rascalz. When Zachary Wentz accidentally tumbled into the referee, Trey Miguel cheated by spraying paint in Mike Bailey’s eyes. Wentz hit a headlock driver, but Trent Seven made the save on the cover. Wentz chop blocked Seven. As the referee checked on Seven’s condition, the Rascalz held Bailey in place for more spray paint. That tactic backfired when Bailey ducked and Trey sprayed Wentz. Bailey took out Trey on a moonsault outside. Speedball Mountain finished the job on a combo tornado kick to suplex. Bailey pinned Wentz to win.

Sacrifice main show

Nic Nemeth defeated Steve Maclin. Steve Maclin had victory within his grasp after hitting a KIA double underhook DDT, but Nemeth wisely rolled out of the ring to prevent a pinfall. Nemeth rallied to hit a KIA of his own. That led to a barrage of offense with two superkicks and the Danger Zone (Zig Zag) for Nemeth to win.

TNA World Tag Team Championship: Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards defeated Ace Austin & Chris Bey to win the titles. Energetic back and forth action. The System hit a backpack stunner to flying elbow drop combo on Ace, but Bey made the save on the cover. Double-team slams took Bey out of the equation. Ace fired up to take control, but Alisha Edwards hooked his foot running the ropes. Myers clobbered a Roster Cut lariat, and Eddie hit a Boston Knee Party to finish Ace. New champions!

PCO defeated Kon. No disqualification rules in effect for the battle of monsters. Chairs, trashcans, and cookie sheets were the primary weapons. PCO chokeslammed Kon off the stage through a table. Back in the ring, PCO finished the job with a Scorpion Death Drop onto a pile of steel chairs and a moonsault to pin Kon.

Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Jody Threat & Dani Luna defeated MK Ultra to win the titles. Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly attacked their opponents before the bell. Threat was choked by a steel chain, and Luna was victim to the Snow Plow on the floor. When the match was officially underway, Slamovich slaughtered Threat. MK Ultra went for a double-team finisher, but Luna came back to life to pull Slamovich out of the ring. Threat scored a roll-up on Kelly to win. New champs! Afterward, Slamovich shoved her partner and exited alone.

Alexander Hammerstone defeated Josh Alexander. Super fight rematch. During the contest, Hammer accidentally smashed the referee in the corner. Alexander snatched an ankle lock, and Hammerman tapped out. Unfortunately, the referee was out cold. Alexander went for a C4 spike piledriver to cement victory, but Hammerstone responded with a low blow kick. The referee was awake, and Hammerstone seized the moment to win via Nightmare Pendulum.

Mustafa Ali & Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, & Kushida. Shelley was still salty at his friends, so the question was if Time Machine could get on the same page. The trio was gelling well down the stretch, then Sabin accidentally booted Shelley in the face. GYV pounced for the Grit Your Teeth double Codebreaker, and Ali finished with a 450 splash to pin Shelley.

Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace defeated Tasha Steelz and Xia Brookside to retain the title. Three-way action. Ash by Elegance was ringside chugging champagne, but she left in a fit of anger when Brookside sent Steelz crashing into her. Grace muscled up for victory. She caught Steelz’s bulldog attempt to place the Boricua Badass seated atop Brookside’s back. Grace unloaded a hefty lariat to Steelz, and the motion carried the challengers over into a Code Red from Steelz to Brookside. Grace closed out the win with a Juggernaut driver to Brookside.

TNA World Championship: Moose defeated Eric Young to retain the title. Calamity ensued for the finish. Young hit a piledriver on the apron, a piledriver on the floor, and a Canadian Destroyer, but Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards ran down to pull the referee out of the ring to prevent the three-count. As the referee ejected the System, a crew member, who was revealed to be Frankie Kazarian, choked Young with a cable. Kaz rolled Young into the ring, and Moose hit a spear to win.

U.S. Express To Be Inducted To The 2024 WWE Hall Of Fame

The U.S. Express, the tag team of Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham, are entering the WWE Hall of Fame. The news was first reported by the website The Ringer, with a video posted by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque on social media of him sharing the news with Rotunda and Windham.

In the video, Levesque discussed Windham and Rotunda’s roles at the inaugural WrestleMania, where they defended the then-World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championships against The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. Levesque acknowledged their significant contributions to WWE’s success before informing them of their induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

“It’s been a great journey, you know,” said a teary-eyed Rotunda. “I mean, watching WWE grow, so it’s pretty damn cool to be part of it in any aspect.”

In the early 1980s, Rotunda and Windham, the respective father and uncle of deceased WWE superstar Bray Wyatt, were one of wrestling’s hottest acts. The duo was especially popular in Florida, where they first debuted before steamrolling their way into WWE as the U.S. Express in 1984.

Under the tutelage of legendary manager Capt. Lou Albano, Rotunda and Windham won the company’s historic tag team titles on two occasions. They first dethroned the team of Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis. Windham and Rotunda claimed the titles a second-time months after they dropped them to the Sheik and Volkoff at Madison Square Garden during the inaugural WrestleMania.

The brother-in-law combo will join Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano as part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class. For Windham, this marks his second induction, having been previously honored in 2012 as part of the Four Horsemen stable.

The induction ceremony will take place after the April 5 SmackDown at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, just before night one of WrestleMania at Lincoln Financial Field.

Source: SB Nation

AEW Rampage Preview 3/8/2024

AEW Rampage tonight on TNT.

  • TBS Championship: Julia Hart (c) vs.  Robyn Renegade
  • Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta vs. Kip Sabian & The Butcher
  • Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Action Andretti
  • Top Flight (Darius Martin & Dante Martin) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Komander & Bryan Keith

TNA Sacrifice 3/8/2024 (Card)

TNA Wrestling presents Sacrifice streaming LIVE TONIGHT at 8pm ET on TNA+, YouTube for Ultimate Insiders and TrillerTV from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario.

CARD

TNA World Championship: Moose (c) vs. Eric Young

Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin

TNA Knockouts World Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Tasha Sleelz vs. Xia Brookside

Josh Alexander vs. Alex Hammerstone

Time Machine (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA) vs. Mustafa Ali & The Grizzled Young Vets

TNA World Tag Team Championship: ABC (c) vs. The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers)

No DQ: PCO vs. Kon

TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: MK Ultra (c) vs. Dani Luna & Jody Threat

Countdown To Sacrifice – The Rascalz vs. Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven)

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/8/2024

WWE SmackDown airs live tonight on FOX from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.

  • The Rock to appear
  • Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins will give their answer to The Rock and Roman Reigns on The Rock’s WrestleMania 40 challenge
  • Bobby Lashley vs. Karrion Kross
  • WWE United States Champion Logan Paul returns

Kenny Omega Provides An Update On His Recovery From Diverticulitis

Kenny Omega recently took to Twitch to provide an update on his recovery from diverticulitis.

While the AEW wrestler was originally set to compete at the Worlds End 2023 pay-per-view event, he was pulled two weeks before the show due to being hospitalized and diagnosed with diverticulitis.

You can check out some highlights from the Twitch stream below:

On how he’s doing so far: “I know how I feel physically. I’ve been through the ringer in terms of injuries and getting banged up and all of that. I kind of know now what I feel like, and I can come back (from physical injuries). This is the first time I’ve ever been put out with a sickness. It’s hard to really know what’s going on in the inside when you feel a little bit of pain, but you don’t actually know the inner workings of what’s going on. I would love to say, ‘Hey guys, I’m on track to coming back next week, next month, a half of year.’ I don’t have that confidence this time. When they’re explaining to me that I was 24 hours away from a terrible blood infection and possibly dying, this is like news to me. I’ve never heard of anything like that. ‘I wasn’t close to dying, are you kidding me? No way.’ The doctors are there to ensure my safety and educate me as to how important this is.

“I don’t want to talk out of my ass too much and say I’m going to for sure be back, and I’ll be back at a certain date or time because I don’t know. I will say, after watching Dynamite, and getting a feel of the lay of the land. If I can come back, I feel like I have to. We may never get an environment like that again. I don’t know if I would call it fun, more of a responsibility. I have a responsibility to mix it up with these guys that call themselves the best. I used to be that guy and have confidence. Now, instead of being that guy with a chip on his shoulder, now, it’s my job to be a gatekeeper. You want to call yourself the best? F**king prove it, b*tch.”

On the ups and downs of his recovery: “Do I need surgery? I still don’t know. It’s been really touch and go. I was feeling great for a week or two. When you feel terrible, a week or two feels like a long time and it feels like you have momentum and you’re going to push to the finish line, which is to come back. For two weeks, I was feeling great. I ran into a bit of a roadblock and I had to get some emergency treatment again. Well, I wouldn’t say it’s two steps forward, two steps back, but maybe it’s one and a half steps back. I’m better than where I was, but I’m not sure how much improvement I made.

“When I see these guys, whether it be on pay-per-view or Dynamite, Raw, SmackDown, NXT, anybody. It makes me want to get back into that ring shape. I’m doing this weird balancing act of trying to manage the pain or sickness and trying to train. I’m trying to make sure things don’t get too out of hand. If suddenly I’m healed and cleared, I want to hop back in. I don’t want to be like, ‘I haven’t done a thing in four or five months’ or whatever it is. I’ll be disappointed, and you guys will be disappointed. The bar is so high. I don’t want to come back being below that bar. I want to try the best I can.”

Source: eWn

AEW Collision Taping Uses New Announce Team, Kevin Kelly Reportedly Has Been Released

AEW commentator Kevin Kelly has been removed from the promotion’s roster page, while he was also not present at the recent “AEW Collision” tapings.

At the tapings for this Saturday’s “Collision” show, Kelly was missing from the broadcast team, with Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone manning the two-man booth. Kelly has been part of the Collision commentary team ever since he joined AEW last year. The former WWE backstage interviewer and MLW commentator was a part of NJPW’s English broadcast team prior to joining AEW.

There’s no news as to the reason why Kelly was removed from the roster page or the “Collision” show, but the speculation is that it could be because of Kelly’s recent comments directed at fellow AEW commentator Ian Riccaboni. Kelly claimed on X that Riccaboni “libeled” him and revealed that he has been “pushed aside.” Kelly last commentated on the March 2 episode of “Collision” alongside Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone. 

According to Wade Keller of PWTorch, Kelly has been released by AEW. The report states that his social media posts, in which he accused Riccaboni of sabotaging his career and engaging in libel, ultimately led to his departure from the promotion.

Kelly was the first commentator of the “Collision” show with McGuinness, while the likes of Riccaboni, Jim Ross, and Caprice Coleman have also called “Collision” action occasionally when Kelly was calling NJPW last year. 

Kelly had an eight-year stint with NJPW, during which time he was also part of the ROH commentary team, which is incidentally part of AEW now.

Source:s Wrestling Inc. and eWn

TNA Impact Preview 3/7/2024

It’s the last stop before Sacrifice! Don’t miss an all-new TNA iMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for Insiders!

  • TNA Champion Moose and Sacrifice challenger Eric Young to appear
  • X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali vs. Kevin Knight
  • The Time Splitters vs. The Good Hands
  • Ash By Elegance in action
  • Dani Luna vs. Masha Slamovich
  • Josh Alexander vs. Dirty Dango
  • PCO vs. Alan Angels